The Walsall-born forward signed for Rovers in 1983 from Bolton Wanderers and made 100 appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals.

He moved on to Wigan in 1986, where he went on to form a prolific partnership with future manager Paul Jewell.

At the time of his death he was living in his West Midlands home.

His former strike partner and all-time leading goalscorer at Rovers, Simon Garner, said: “He was a great guy. A very underrated player, he was one of the best strikers I ever played with.”

Former team-mate, ex-Rovers full back Mick ‘Baz’ Rathbone, said Mr Thompson’s death over the Bank Holiday weekend had come as a shock.

He said: “I played with him for a few years. He was very popular. He was a good player, part of a fantastic squad with great camaraderie.

“At 52 it is a total shock. He was a nice guy, very droll and enjoyed a laugh. He was a good guy in a good bunch of lads.”

Darwen-born former Rovers midfielder Mark Patterson also had fond memories of Mr Thompson.

He said: “Over the past couple of years when I have been out with him socially he was poorly.

“But he was always upbeat and confident, just like he was as a player. He was a brave man with a big heart. You always knew what you were going to get with Chris. He was the sort of player you
would want with you in the trenches.”

A spokesman for Rovers added: “Rovers would like to offer its condolences to Chris’s family and friends at this sad time.”

The cause of Mr Thompson’s death has not been released and funeral details are still being arranged.

Comments (6)

Like I said on a previous post, I spoke to Chris when he was Landlord of the Station Tavern in Lytham about 20 years ago. He was a lovely guy and another of the Rovers' legends in a time when supporters didn't expect much but knew the club's owners, players and management were all fighting in the right direction.
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RIP Chris and best wishes to your family and friends at this very difficult time.

Like I said on a previous post, I spoke to Chris when he was Landlord of the Station Tavern in Lytham about 20 years ago. He was a lovely guy and another of the Rovers' legends in a time when supporters didn't expect much but knew the club's owners, players and management were all fighting in the right direction.
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RIP Chris and best wishes to your family and friends at this very difficult time.smellthecoffee

Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si.

Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC.

I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days.

Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.

Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si.
Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC.
I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days.
Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.French Rover

i have a bit of a story about Chris...i named my oldest son after Chris, i called him Christopher Thomas...i wrote to Chris to let him know and god bless him he sent me a picture signed by all the squad and posted it back to me....God bless you Chris and may you rest in peace....and thanks pal

i have a bit of a story about Chris...i named my oldest son after Chris, i called him Christopher Thomas...i wrote to Chris to let him know and god bless him he sent me a picture signed by all the squad and posted it back to me....God bless you Chris and may you rest in peace....and thanks palRay Gunn

French Rover wrote:
Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si.

Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC.

I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days.

Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.

You don't have to be the greatest player in the world FR to be a legend. To me, all the players at that time were legends and Chris was no exception. Only when those days and people are gone do we perhaps truly appreciate them. They were the heart and soul of a great and proud club.

[quote][p][bold]French Rover[/bold] wrote:
Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si.
Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC.
I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days.
Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.[/p][/quote]You don't have to be the greatest player in the world FR to be a legend. To me, all the players at that time were legends and Chris was no exception. Only when those days and people are gone do we perhaps truly appreciate them. They were the heart and soul of a great and proud club.smellthecoffee

French Rover wrote:
Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si.

Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC.

I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days.

Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.

You don't have to be the greatest player in the world FR to be a legend. To me, all the players at that time were legends and Chris was no exception. Only when those days and people are gone do we perhaps truly appreciate them. They were the heart and soul of a great and proud club.

I have to agree with that sentiment SMC, we do sometimes only truly appreciate people after they are gone....

Though I think that there will be an exception to that rule for when Venkys and Kean.....

I think we can all agree on that!

[quote][p][bold]smellthecoffee[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]French Rover[/bold] wrote:
Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si.
Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC.
I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days.
Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.[/p][/quote]You don't have to be the greatest player in the world FR to be a legend. To me, all the players at that time were legends and Chris was no exception. Only when those days and people are gone do we perhaps truly appreciate them. They were the heart and soul of a great and proud club.[/p][/quote]I have to agree with that sentiment SMC, we do sometimes only truly appreciate people after they are gone....
Though I think that there will be an exception to that rule for when Venkys and Kean.....
I think we can all agree on that!French Rover

French Rover wrote: Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si. Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC. I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days. Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.

You don't have to be the greatest player in the world FR to be a legend. To me, all the players at that time were legends and Chris was no exception. Only when those days and people are gone do we perhaps truly appreciate them. They were the heart and soul of a great and proud club.

I have to agree with that sentiment SMC, we do sometimes only truly appreciate people after they are gone.... Though I think that there will be an exception to that rule for when Venkys and Kean..... I think we can all agree on that!

Definitely!! Nice to agree on that FR :-)

[quote][p][bold]French Rover[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]smellthecoffee[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]French Rover[/bold] wrote: Nice guy and a good player for us at that time when yes we were quite a solid and well run club. Chris worked well with Garner up front and had a scoring record of around 1 in 4 games but also made quite a few for Si. Maybe not a Rovers 'legend' though SMC. I think that term is used a bit too loosely in general in football these days. Full respect to Chris's family and friends at this sad time from all Rovers fans.[/p][/quote]You don't have to be the greatest player in the world FR to be a legend. To me, all the players at that time were legends and Chris was no exception. Only when those days and people are gone do we perhaps truly appreciate them. They were the heart and soul of a great and proud club.[/p][/quote]I have to agree with that sentiment SMC, we do sometimes only truly appreciate people after they are gone.... Though I think that there will be an exception to that rule for when Venkys and Kean..... I think we can all agree on that![/p][/quote]Definitely!! Nice to agree on that FR :-)smellthecoffee